


Soldier Keep On Marching On

by Ebaki



Category: Avengers, Black Panther (2018), Guardians of the Galaxy - Fandom
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War ripped out my heart, BAMF Nebula, BAMF Rocket, BAMF Tony, BAMF shuri, Everyone is sad for obvious reasons, First time writing pls forgive, Gen, I'm making it allllll better, If everyone plays nice I will personally bring back Loki, Marvel you better bring everyone back, Rocket is Rabbit???, Thanos ur going down, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, everyone kicks ass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-06-25 18:48:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15646764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebaki/pseuds/Ebaki
Summary: Thanos has won. Nebula and Tony are stuck on Titan; the ones that mean the most to both of them are dead. Shuri is in Wakanda, and has awoken to the aftermath of the war. How will any of them cope with what has happened? (I PROMISE the story is better than the summary) MAJOR INFINITY WAR SPOILERS AHEAD! (Originally posted on ff.net)





	1. Prologue- Hollow

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is my first fic on this site so please forgive me if I make mistakes or upload at weird times. I really have no idea how to use this. As a disclaimer: I do not own any of Marvel’s characters, I’m just using them for entertainment purposes. I hope this entertains. Title is from ‘Hollow’ by Cloudeater. Enjoy!

Thanos sat silently watching the sun rise from his position on his hut. For almost his whole life, he had imagined this moment. Had imagined the moment when he had finally, finally brought balance to the universe. But he had never imagined what it would cost him. 

Of course saving the universe would extract a heavy toll; planets destroyed, countless slaughtered… It was never going to be easy. But he could not watch the universe perish as his home planet had, not when he had the solution.

He was the only one strong enough to bear the weight of the decisions that had been made. Every life taken had been for a reason. He may be considered by some- many, in fact- to be a murderer, a psychopath, a maniac, but one thing Thanos was not, was wasteful. He did not waste lives. He had, after all, spared his traitorous daughter Nebula. But he had killed his other daughter, Gamora. 

His favourite child, the one who out of all of his children had shown the most promise. The most will. He had thrown her off of the edge of the cliff on Vormir like she was nothing to him. But she wasn’t nothing. That was why he had to do it. It was for a reason, the Titan told himself. He had to, so he could claim the Soul Stone, for the sake of the universe! So why did it leave him feeling so hollow?

He had saved the universe. But he had destroyed everything important to him in the process. 

He had won, but it had cost him everything.

Why should I even care? She betrayed me! She left and tried to destroy everything I worked towards! Everything WE worked towards!

These thoughts flickered through Thanos’ consciousness before he quickly banished them. Such childish thinking, complaining and whining about things that didn’t even matter anymore, besmirching his favourite daughter’s memory. It doesn’t matter what happened before, it was time to look to the future. The future he had created. 

No doubt people would be angry, and confused, and grieving for their loved ones. This combination of emotions was dangerous if possessed by the wrong people. This troubled Thanos. He hadn’t given much thought as to what would happen after he had wiped half of the universe from existence. His goal had been so clear in his mind; he had not had time to think about it. Why think about it if it didn’t even happen? All of his energy and time and resources had been put into his plan, so what next?

Injured as he was by the god-man Thor, Thanos decided he should heal before anything else. If he was weak, he was an easy target. Well, as easy a target as you could be in possession of all six infinity stones. (That wasn’t very easy).

Thanos glanced down at the gauntlet, in ruins and still plastered to his hand. It filled him with awe; it suddenly stuck him that no one else in the history of all the universe had ever been in possession of all six infinity stones. He could rule the universe. Well, he supposed he already did, in a way, (the rest of the galaxies just didn’t know it yet). He was their salvation. He was a god. 

“You will never be a God.”

The dead Asgardian’s voice echoed in Thanos’ mind. He smirked; he had shown him. Triumph welled inside of his chest as he gazed at the stones, glowing with power. His eyes rested on the soul stone. What it had cost him. 

No. Now was not the time for grief. Now it was time to bask in the warmth of his victory; he deserved that, surely? He had, after all, dedicated his whole life to it. He could decide what to do next later. He would face the wraith of all of the galaxies at another time; it wasn’t like they would ever be able to find him. No one knew where he was. It could stay that way a little longer.

Thanos sank back and turned his gaze back to the sunrise, and the warm glow it radiated. No one could stop him now.


	2. Soldier Keep On Marching On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nebula and Tony on Titan. Tony, quit taking pills that you don't know for sure what they are. Nebula, quit scaring Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is from ‘Soldier’ by Fleurie. I don’t own Marvel or it’s characters.

He’s gone. They’re gone. It’s over. We lost.

These thoughts raced through Tony Stark’s mind as he crouched on the red, rocky surface of Titan. He didn’t bother trying to silence the voices in his head. All he could do was stare at the dust clutched in his hands. The dust that was all that remained of Peter. He had failed. 

He had lost, and it had cost him everything.

Tony was dimly aware of the strange blue alien that had arrived halfway through their fight against Thanos, but didn’t attempt to engage in any kind of conversation. She hadn’t spoken a word after the battle since sitting down on a nearby rock. He was sure he ought to be suspicious and wary of this new alien, but right now he didn’t really care. She had fought on their side, that was good enough for now. Right?

Tony’s thoughts drifted back to the dust at his feet. What should he do with it? He wasn’t exactly sure why this thought came to him, but he felt a sudden surety that he couldn’t leave all that was left of the kid on this stupid lump of space rock. He would have to find something to put it in before he could take it anywhere, though.

Tony glanced up for the first time in what felt like forever, and slowly got to his feet. His neck and back felt sore. How long had he been sitting like that with his head bowed? You know what, doesn’t matter, all that matters now is figuring out some way to get this dust in a box and back home. 

Home... 

It suddenly occurred to Tony that he had no idea to get back to Earth. The space donut that had brought them here was totalled, and he was pretty sure the craft that this weird blue cyborg had crashed into Thanos was useless too. Oh God how was he gonna get back?? Maybe he could fix the cyborg’s ship... 

Smelling the acrid smoke that drifted from the ship even from all the way over here, he knew it was a long shot. Almost not worth trying.

His thoughts wandered to the strange new allies he had made in the battle. The Guardians! They must have had a ship to get here… Tony suddenly straightened, clearing some of the fog in his grief-stricken mind at the new goal. He turned to inspect the newcomer, who still hadn’t moved from her spot slouched on the rocky ground. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rose and fell evenly as she breathed deeply. Tony might have thought she was asleep or something if she didn’t stir at that moment.

Her eyes snapped open and she glanced up at him, straightening her back as she eyed him dubiously. 

“Who are you?” They both said in unison, and Tony jumped at the sudden noise. It had been very quiet while they sat together on the dusty planet, and their voices seemed too loud in the otherwise silent space. The alien’s voice was low and monotonous, but in the quiet was magnified (and kinda scary), and Tony needed a moment to regain his composure at the small shock. Tony, now more collected, gained a slightly more assertive tone when he spoke again, trying to salvage a bit of his dignity after nearly jumping out of his skin at the small fright.

“I asked first, Blue. Who are you and what are you doing here? Whose side are you on?” Tony then realised the last question was a little bit stupid considering she just fought Thanos with him, but he tried to retain a completely stoic expression. The woman seemed unimpressed, and regarded him now with narrowed eyes, slowly rising to her feet. Tony’s skin crawled slightly under her scrutiny. 

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be demanding answers from me.” She said wryly. Her dark eyes were cold and calculating as she sized him up, and her face remained carefully blank as she glared at him. Finally, she answered his queries, apparently deeming him to be harmless. (Tony might have found that slightly offensive if he hadn’t just been beaten shitless and stabbed in the gut). 

“My name is Nebula. I came here to kill Thanos. I’m… affiliated with the Guardians of the Galaxy.” She replied, answering his questions chronologically and in the same monotonous tone, which apparently was her normal tone. Tony eyed her carefully for a moment. 

“How did you know where to find Thanos, or know that he would come here?” He asked suspiciously. She didn’t just pass through the neighbourhood and happen to find him.

“I’m the one who told the Guardians to come here. I… heard that he wanted to meet his children here, and so I alerted the Guardians and told them to meet me here. How did you know where he would be?” Nebula answered coolly. 

“I didn’t. I boarded a weird donut shaped ship to rescue one of my… associates who happened to be in possession of the time stone. The ship was on autopilot or something directed here when I arrived on board.” Tony’s head was beginning to throb at their conversation, pain from the battle creeping up on him as the numbness began to wear off. Okay, well, she seems to be on my side, and she hasn’t killed me yet, so I guess I’ll just trust her for now. It’s not like I have much reason not to trust her, except for maybe the fact that she’s an alien. Is that racist? Nah. Tony’s inner monologue was cut short by Nebula’s voice, bringing him once more into the living realm. She still looked like she didn’t trust him, but her eyes no longer held as much hostility as it had before.

“You still haven’t told me who you are.” She said bluntly. Oh, right.

“Name’s Tony Stark, I’m uh, I’m from Earth. I also came here to kill Thanos, but... well we both know how well that turned out.” Tony said with a huff. 

Interest sparked in Nebula’s eyes at the mention of Earth “You’re from Earth? So you’re Terran, like Quill.” Tony wasn’t too sure what that meant, but he agreed anyway. 

“Uhhh yeah, I mean, if Terran means I’m… From Earth.” Nebula nodded impatiently, rolling her eyes at his apparent stupidity. She turned away from him and scanned the area with her unnerving black eyes, seemingly over their conversation. 

“We have to get out of here.” She said finally. Tony nodded in agreement, before remembering his goal from before. He would have to find the Guardian’s ship and see if it had a box on it, collect Peter’s dust and fly back to Earth. Something inside him said that his strange new companion wouldn’t be too impressed if he wasted time looking for a container for Peter’s ashes. Oh well, she could deal with it; he’d just have to be quick. Tony turned and looked around, trying to memorise what this place looked like so he’d be able to find it again. Sadly, the area seemed pretty barren. It had barely any landmarks, and he swore he could see the exact same landmarks like, 50 metres away. Only one thing to do then.

“Okay.” Nebula turned back to gaze at him with sharp eyes. “I’m gonna need you to stay here.” He continued. Nebula opened her mouth to argue, so he hurried on. “I’ll be super quick; I’m going to find the Guardian’s ship, but I need you to stay here and I’ll come back and find you.” The woman in front of him still looked ready to protest, and he wasn’t surprised when she actually did. 

“It’ll be more efficient if we both look for the ship. I won’t leave without you.” She pointed out with a frown. Ah. She thought he was worried she would leave without him. Well, I guess that’s reasonable; we barely know each other, he thought. 

A stiff breeze blew through the area, carrying with it dust from the planet’s surface, stinging Tony’s eyes. Then, with a jolt of panic, he spun around to stare at the spot that Peter had fallen. The breeze picked up some of his ash and carried it away. What if he came back and it had all just… blown away? He had to hurry, he thought with a creeping sense of urgency. 

He turned back to Nebula, and was about to begin begging her, but stopped short when she suddenly turned away, and said “Okay. I’ll stay here. But if you leave without me, I’ll kill you.” She sat back down, turning her interest to her metallic arm, which, to his slight surprise, she opened up and began tinkering with.

Okay, well, he’d hold her to her word, that was for sure. Tony turned and began picking his way through the rubble; skirting craters left by the moon Thanos had thrown at him and clambering over boulders as quickly as he could, which really wasn’t very fast. The sun beat down on him, and he was suddenly aware of how tired and dizzy he felt. He hadn’t slept for what, a day? Two? His injuries were beginning to throb steadily, while his stab wound sent jolts of pain shooting through his body. Tony wondered dully if he would die on this planet, like Peter. No. He couldn’t. He had to see if Pepper was still alive. And Bruce. And he would have to speak to May… Oh God what would he say? ‘Hey, sorry, Peter stowed away with me on a mission in space and turned to dust after a huge purple raisin beat our asses.’? Tony shook his head, trying to clear it and focus. 

He glanced around, trying to remember if this was anywhere near where he remembered the Guardian’s ships being. Nope. Where the hell am I?? With a huff, he trudged forwards, head bowed against the harsh sun. He wandered somewhat aimlessly across the wasteland of a planet, until he rounded a huge boulder and a flash of gleaming metal caught his eye. His head snapped in the direction of the light, and sure enough, there it was. The ship wasn’t in great condition, but judging by the character of the Guardians, he wasn’t sure if Thanos’ meteor shower was to blame. He sped up, hobbling as quickly as he could towards the open hangar of the ship. It was completely dark inside. Tony hoped it was just because the ship was powered down and not because it was damaged. 

His suit radiated a dull light as he stumbled in the dark, trying to find a switch or button or something to turn on the lights. Finally, after a few minutes of flailing in the darkness, he managed to find a switch on one of the ship’s walls. He flipped it, and after a few seconds of nothing happening, the lights flickered to life. Finally! I can see. It took moments for Tony to understand why he had been tripping all over the place; the ship was an absolute mess, although that didn’t surprise him. 

Grumbling, he walked through the ship in search of some kind of box or container. After a few minutes of searching, he found three metal boxes lined up in front of one of the far walls of the ship. He picked one of them up and turned it over in his hands, trying to find a way to open it. On one of the sides, scrawled in red marker, were the words: DON’T TOUCH UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR HANDS BLOWN OFF. Tony promptly put the box down. The other two boxes bore similar messages, and with a huff of irritation, he turned and walked into one of the other rooms to see if he could find anything useful. It turned out to be a bedroom, and Tony paused in the doorway.

‘They’re dead. They can’t stop you from looking around.’ A voice in his head said. Despite these less than reassuring thoughts, he still felt like an intruder as he stepped into the room. It was pretty small, but it still seemed like two different people lived here.

Trying not to think too hard about it, Tony quickly continued searching for the item that had dragged him here in the first place. There didn’t seem to be a box just lying around, which was for good reason, he supposed; you don’t want lose objects flying all over the place when you’re travelling. He spotted a small set of drawers sitting next to the right side of the bed. Trudging towards it, he crouched before it and pried it open. Inside was a pack of weird space mints, fragmented shards of what seemed to be a cassette tape, some brand of what seemed to be painkillers and… yes! There was a small, rectangular box. It wasn’t very large, but seeing as it didn’t seem to have any holes or lethal weapons in it, he decided it was the best he could do.

Taking the box from the drawer, Tony opened it and was met with a simple folded piece of paper in a bed of paper tissue. The folded paper turned out to be a note; the first two lines were ‘Dear Peter,’… Tony quickly put the note back in the box. After a moment of hesitation, he once again removed the paper from the box and tucked it in his pocket, which had been exposed when his suit had been severely damaged. He would return it and the box to the drawer once he had transferred Peter’s ashes from the box into a more suitable container on Earth. His stab wound had progressed from shooting pains every now and then to perpetual agony, and after a few more seconds of thinking, he swiped the box of painkillers too, immediately taking out two of the pills and dry swallowing them.

Tony didn’t know how long he had been walking for, but he assumed at had been at least a few hours since he had last been with Nebula. Now that he had what he wanted, he thought it was probably time for him to get back. He tucked the box under his arm and exited the room. Picking his way through the messy hall, he returned back the way he had come, but hesitated at the hangar door. He could feel the heat of the wasteland outside already, and it had been wonderfully cool inside the dark ship. Still, if he didn’t get a move on, Nebula might get tired of waiting and come looking for him. So, gathering up the last dregs of his determination, he stepped out into the blistering heat. 

A slow, dry wind blew across the barren area. Tony felt as though he had just opened an oven and caught a blast of the hot air inside. He screwed his eyes shut against the sun, which, he noticed with a pang of alarm was beginning to dip down to the far horizon, and stumbled across the rocky land, trying to figure out which direction he had come from. 'Okay. I remember this rock here. I’m going the right way! No… wait… maybe it was that rock over there? Hm. No… I’m pretty certain it was this rock.' These thoughts frequented Tony’s mind as he picked his way across the desolate landscape. 'Man, I really should have thought this through. Dropped like, chinks of armour on the floor on the way here so I could follow them back. Alright, I’m certain I’ve passed this boulder at least three times. Am I going in circles? Stupid planet… everything looking the same.' Tony grumbled to himself as he walked, beginning to feel impatient and irritable. Eventually, he stopped dead in his tracks, took another look around, saw the same stupid rock that he had now passed for the fifth time, and let out a wordless scream of frustration. He turned and booted a rock in the direction of a meteor crater. In desperation, he called out for Nebula. “MARCO!”

“What?” A voice behind him startled him, and he jumped at the noise for a second time, letting out a cry of shock. Whirling around, he found himself face to face with Nebula, an annoyed expression on her face. 

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Tony gasped, clutching his chest to calm his racing heart. 

“What took you so long? You’ve been gone for hours!” Nebula’s voice held an edge of anger and resentment, but Tony swore he heard a slight tinge of relief. Maybe. If he looked hard enough for it. Or maybe he was imagining it. Judging by the anger smouldering in her eyes, it was a pretty safe bet to say he was imagining it

“Sorry. It took me a while to find the ship.” He replied. 

“What do you mean?” Nebula tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “it’s right over there.” She said with a nod gesturing to behind him. Tony whirled around, but couldn’t see the ship. “Huh?” 

“It’s over the rise over there. If I had known you were visually impaired, I would have gone looking for the ship.” She didn’t look as mad anymore. More… irritated. “Always get to higher ground if you’re in an unfamiliar land, so you can see more of it and understand which direction you need to go. I climbed one of the rock ledges over there and saw it parked in the rocky quarry over there.” She explained, jerking her head in the direction she mentioned. Embarrassment washed over Tony as he realised he had taken the longest route possible, skirting the boulders and craters and going all the way around instead of cutting straight across. Suddenly, Tony realised something very, very wrong with her presence. “Why’d you leave?? I told you to stay where you were and that I’d come and find you!” Nebula recoiled slightly due to his furious shout, but anger flashed in her eyes. “You did a great job of finding your way there and back! If I had done it, we’d probably be off of this damn planet by now!” She snapped back. “Besides, I know how to get back, so there’s no need to get angry with me.” She stormed past and began walking in another direction, before pausing to throw a glare at him and jerk her head in a ‘this way’ motion. Tony winced slightly as he followed. He hadn’t meant to get the shits with her, and right now, she was his only ally. He would have to apologise later and be more careful with what he said from here on out. 

They soon returned back to the place that they had separated. Tony looked around, and to his horror, he couldn’t see any of the ash in the spot that it had been on the ground. He glanced around quickly, but couldn’t see any of the dust anywhere. There was a quiet cough from behind him. Tony turned to face Nebula, defeat showing in his slumped shoulders. Then, she nodded at a rock nearby. When he didn’t move, she rolled her eyes and stepped forwards, rolling the small boulder away and revealing a hole underneath it, which had been filled with a strange ash substance. 

Tony’s heart stopped and he stumbled towards it, crouching at the edge of the freshly dug hole and pulling the box out from it’s spot under his arm. He paused and glanced up at Nebula, who was gazing at him with a dull expression. Her eyes seemed to be somewhere far away, but they focused again when Tony spoke. 

“I uh… Thank you. How did you..?” He trailed off, and returned his gaze to the dust which had been safely stored in the hole. 

“I saw you look at it when you asked me to stay here. I knew you wanted to do something with it. You were gone so long, though, the wind started to blow it away. So I dug a hole, scraped as much of it off of the ground as I could and put it in it, and put a rock over it.” Her reply was unusually quiet. She was looking at him with a sombre expression. 

“Was he your son?” 

Tony hesitated, before shaking his head. “Not really… but we were close. I didn’t want to leave his…” His what? Body? “I didn’t want to leave him behind.” Nebula nodded slowly, and moved to the far side of the rock clearing to wait for him. Tony turned his attention back to the hole filled with the remains of the kid. Trembling slightly, he scooped some of the dust from the hole and poured it into the box. And did it again. And again. Until the box wouldn’t fit anymore. There was still a sizable portion of dust left by that time however, and he looked at it sorrowfully before pulling the boulder back over the small crater. Quickly, he straightened up and dusted himself off, before hurrying to join Nebula. She glanced at him and gave him a short nod, before leading them the correct way to the Guardian’s ship.

Even though Nebula’s way was much, much quicker than Tony’s, the sun had almost set by the time they reached the Guardian’s ship. The good news is, the painkillers had kicked in, and his pain had been dulled considerably. Man, those painkillers sure were efficient. Nebula strode up the ramp and easily made her way through the dark (how did she not trip over ever single thing in this blasted place?), before flipping the lights on and turning to stalk over to a set of stairs, completely ignoring Tony in the process. He sighed and went over to a nearby shelf to put the box of Peter’s ash away safely, suddenly remembering the note in his pocket. He certainly wasn’t going to read it, and he didn’t really want it, but it was obviously important to that Quill guy. Maybe he should give it to Nebula? She was, after all, an apparent ‘friend’ of his; maybe she would want it? No, that’s stupid. She wouldn’t want it. Still, he took it out and turned it over in his hands, chewing his lip thoughtfully. 

“What’s that?” Nebula’s voice sounded behind him, making him jump slightly. To his credit, it was a much smaller jump than the last time. He spun around to glare at her. 

“How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me?” He huffed, quickly regaining his composure. 

“I wasn’t sneaking.” She replied, rolling her eyes. For someone who had no discernable pupil or iris, she was surprisingly good at it. “If you don’t want to tell me what it is, fine. I came down to scan you for injuries.” She continued, holding up a strange looking device and shaking it slightly for emphasis. Ah. Yes. The painkillers had almost made him forget that he even had any injuries. He waved her off. 

“It’s fine, I can hardly even feel it anymore. Let’s just get to work repairing damages to the ship so we can get the hell off of this planet.” Nebula raised her non-metallic eyebrow disbelievingly.

“The ship is fine. The ridge protected it from the worst of the meteor shower. Besides, Thanos stabbed you. Maybe it’s a bad thing that you can’t feel it.” She said slowly, eyeing him carefully.

“Nah, it’s fine. I found some painkillers on the ship. They work really well; I can barely feel it anymore.” He replied, stretching upwards for emphasis. Nebula still didn’t look convinced, if anything, she looked even less convinced than before.

“Let me see these miracle painkillers.” She said, holding out her hand. Tony took the small box out of his pocket and dropped it in Nebula’s hand. She glanced at him once more before turning the box over in her hand, reading the label. She shook her head and looked back up at him.

“You’re an idiot.” She said angrily. “These are for things like broken bones. Things that cause a lot of pain, but probably won’t kill you. And you’re supposed to take them after you’ve been treated.”

“Hey! How was I supposed to know! Who keeps crazy strong morphine or whatever in their bedside drawer?” He retorted defensively.

“It was probably meant for… someone who isn’t Terran. Their bodies would need stronger painkillers because the Terran ones are too weak.” She explained, and a strange look passed over her features for a split second, but quickly vanished.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tony asked, a tinge of fear blooming in his chest.

“It means that something might be very, very wrong but the painkillers are masking the pain. People die taking strong painkillers for life threatening injuries, because they don’t think anything is wrong because they can’t feel it anymore.” She answered, grabbing him by the arm and tugging him away, dragging him down the hall and into a room labelled ‘Med-Bay’. She pulled him onto a table, and quickly began rummaging around

“Armour: off. Now.” She ordered, fiddling with the scanning machine thing she had brought with her. Tony quickly obliged, tapping his chest plate twice, and holding it. Instantly, the armour began receding into it, and in a few seconds, it was gone. Nebula quickly scanned him and projected the image. It was of Tony’s body, multiple spots lit up red, others blue, others white. She muttered angrily to herself as she began pulling items off of the shelves, checking the scan every few moments and pulling out more items. She turned back to him with arms full of bandages and needles, before dropping them next to him and pushing him down onto the table so that he was flat on his back.

“What’s wrong with me, doc?” Tony joked feebly. Nebula glared at him. 

“The blade went straight through you. You may have sealed the entry and exit wounds, but you’ve been bleeding internally.” She snapped, and grabbed a pair of scissors to cut open his clothes to reveal the wound.

“Ah! Not the clothes!” Tony squirmed away from her. “They were expensive!” Nebula ignored him and tore open his clothes with the scissors. There was a ghastly bruise that had bloomed around the wound. Nebula stared at it, hesitating.

“You’ll need a blood transfusion.” She informed him tersely. Then, after another check of the scan, she made a small incision near the wound, muttering something about alleviating the pressure. Blood seeped from the wound, and she quickly pressed a bandage to it. Then, she took out a stand and hung up the IV drip before looking inside the refrigerator and pulling out a similar looking bag, but filled with a red liquid that Tony recognised to be blood. It was labelled ‘TERRAN: O-NEGATIVE’. Carefully, she inserted the IV drip into the back of his hand, and put the needle for the blood into his arm. She then prepped and hung the bag of blood on the stand. Blood slowly began flowing through the tube and into his arm. Checking the stand once more, she glanced at him before saying “I can’t waste time fixing anything else. I’ll put a healing pack over the stab wound, but we have to leave for Earth now, otherwise you’ll bleed out.”

“There’s a place on Earth. Wakanda. It has the best medicine and tech on the planet. You’ll wanna go there.” Tony explains quickly as Nebula hurries around the room. 

She nodded. “Wakanda. Right.” 

“Don’t you need me to tell you the coordinates?” Tony asked, puzzled. Nebula smirked. 

“I have my ways of figuring these things out.” Confused as to what she meant, he opened his mouth to ask her but she was busily rummaging through a box on the far side of the room that was filled with some kinds of restraints, according the label.

Nebula wasted no time in strapping him to the table, pulling an oxygen mask over his face and dimming the lights, before marching out of the room and closing the door. Tony’s eyelids felt heavy. The steady hum of the machinery around him began to lull him to sleep. Wait. If you’re in danger of dying aren’t you supposed to stay awake? Okay. No falling asleep. No… falling… asleep…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a doctor. Don't you doctors yell at me for having the wrong names for stuff, Nebula and I are trying our best.
> 
> I kind of wanted Nebula to be a bit snappish and short tempered, but not heartless, which is why she agreed to stay with Peter’s dust. My headcannon is that since such a long time has passed between Vol. 2 and Infinity War, she encounters the Guardians a lot more in those years, and develops her social skills a bit more and becomes somewhat more tolerant (especially of stupidity, being around Quill and Drax). Anyway, read and review!


	3. Nothing Left To Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuri wakes up. Everything she loves is gone. Then a snarky, talking raccoon named 'Rabbit' comes along and things get weird from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is from the song ‘Nothing Left To Say’ by Imagine Dragons.

Shuri woke up to a quiet voice sounding in her ear and strong arms shaking her gently. 

“-uri. Shuri! Wake up.” Without even having to open her eyes, she knew it was Okoye. Shuri grunted and opened her eyes, but was met with a blinding white light that hurt her brain, so she shut them again. After a few deep breaths, she slowly opened one eye, then the other, letting them adjust to the brightness. Okoye was standing over her, worry written all over her face. She let out a sigh of relief when Shuri slowly began to right herself, dragging herself up into a sitting position. 

“Thank goodness you’re awake, my Queen. I wasn’t sure if you would wake up. Are you alright?” Shuri’s head throbbed with dull pain, and her mind was foggy from being knocked out. Okoye’s voice sent new jolts of pain through her head and she groaned. Gingerly, she brought her fingers to her forehead and felt a painful lump. Wincing, she let her hand drop back down to her side. Ouch. That’s gonna leave a mark. 

“Yes, yes, I’m fine… My head hurts a bit but I’ll check it out later. What happened?” Shuri rubbed her eyes and as the drowsy fog began receding from her mind, the rest of Okoye’s words sank in. “Wait… did you just call me your ‘Queen’?” 

Upon looking at her closer, Shuri realised Okoye’s eyes were puffy and red, full of raw grief that sent a chill down her spine. What had happened to T’Challa? Looking around, she realised she couldn’t see him anywhere.

“What happened? Did we win? Where is my brother?” Shuri’s questions were fast and desperate; she searched Okoye’s face, but saw only sorrow. 

“We… we didn’t win. T’Challa is gone. So is most of the council and… your mother. And as for what happened… I still don’t really know.” Okoye looked away when she finished speaking, her face scrunching up with grief.

Shuri felt hollow. “What do you mean ‘gone’??” She demanded. Okoye shook her head, her shoulders slumping. Pain stronger than the the ache in her head began pooling in her belly. It filled her stomach, swirled in her chest, threatening to overwhelm her. There was a scream. She didn’t know where it was coming from until her throat began to hurt and she realised it was coming from her. She snapped her mouth shut. No. Not again. I can’t have lost him again!

“Thanos did it.” A new voice interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up to see Steve Rogers standing in front of her. “He stole the Mind Stone from Vision’s head and snapped his fingers. And then all these people just… turned to dust. Gone.” His voice, too, was hollow with grief. Behind him, on a table, surrounded by the remainder of the Avengers, was a misshapen grey object, that she realised dully was Vision’s body. She flinched; she hadn’t been able to remove the stone in time.

She had failed, and it had cost her everything.

A sharp beeping sounded nearby and she flinched at the high pitched noise, her headache not yet gone. Okoye was looking at her kimoyo beads, which were the things making that horrid noise. Her voice was tight with fear when she spoke. 

“Something else is entering the atmosphere, headed here. Fast.” 

Oh god. Has Thanos sent another army to finish us off? Or is it someone new?

“Is the barrier still intact?” Shuri demanded, worry creeping into her voice. Okoye nodded.

“We haven’t removed it yet.” She replied. “We wanted to wait for you to wake up before we decided to do anything.” Shuri nodded in approval.

“Good. We’ll send out a squad to intercept them in case the land before the barrier.” She said, tapping her kimoyo beads. Okoye looked troubled. 

“We don’t know how many of our forces survived the attack. There might not be many people to send.” She explained, her eyes betraying the fear she felt. It was at this moment that Steve stepped forwards.

“We can go too,” he offered, gesturing to the remainder of the Avengers. “We won’t let anyone reach the civilians.” Shuri gave him a grateful smile, which he responded to with a kind smile of his own. 

“Let’s see what we’re up against first,” She said, and turned her attention back to her kimoyo beads and tapped one of them, before turning her hand over to expose her wrist. An image of the oncoming ship projected from the beads, and everyone gathered around to examine it.

“It looks too small to be an attack…” Natasha murmured from her position beside Steve.

“It could be a trap.” Steve countered. “Maybe they’re trying to lead us out into the open again and then ambush us.”

“How? We have the barrier. And we’d know if there were more ships entering the atmosphere through the beads.” 

“They don’t know that!” Before Nat and Steve could argue further, a new person piped up.

“Hey, I know that ship! That’s my ship!” The gruff sounding voice exclaimed from behind them. Shuri spun around and to her surprise, there before her was not a person, but a surly-looking raccoon in a strange outfit, standing on its hind paws and glaring directly at her. Did it just… talk?! The animal lifted its chin and curled its lips into a sneer at her astonished face. “Got something on my face have I?” He asked mockingly. It did it again! Shuri shook her head quickly. Was this a dream?

“Say again, friend Rabbit?” Thor prompted. He knows the raccoon? And its name is ‘Rabbit’?? So many questions…

“That’s my ship!” The raccoon repeated, looking irritated by the surprised looks he was getting.

“If it’s your ship, who’s flying it?” Bruce questioned suspiciously.

The raccoon rolled his eyes “A’right fine, our ship. I share it with a couple other people-“ 

“The morons?” Thor interjected.

“-yes the morons. They’re… good friends of mine. But I don’t know how the hell they managed to find us.” ‘Rabbit’ narrowed his eyes at the projection. “How far away is it?”

Shuri checked the numbers on the projection. “Still some ways off. It’ll be here in a few minutes though, judging by the speed it’s travelling.”

The raccoon did not seem pleased by this answer, and he gestured for Shuri to bring the projection closer to him so he could see it better. She obliged, and the animal wrinkled it’s nose at the image. 

“Why’s it flyin’ like that? Quill doesn’t fly that way.” He growled suspiciously, before adding “Something must be wrong.”

“Hang on, how fast is it going?” Bruce asked, leaning over to survey the projection. Shuri checked and replied “Almost 1.5 thousand miles per hour, why?”

Bruce’s gaze darkened. “Does it look like it’s slowing down? Cause whoever’s on it will have a nasty surprise if it’s stopped by the barrier.” Horror dawned on everyone’s faces as they realised what the scientist meant. The raccoon turned to Shuri.

“Turn off the barrier!” He barked, but she didn’t need to be told, as she was already inputting the security code into a keyboard projected by the kimoyo beads. 

ERROR: ACTION CANNOT BE FULFILLED. AUTHENTICATION REQUIRED. Shuri stared at the message in surprise before re-entering the code. The same error popped up. And again. Oh god, this was bad. She only had around a minute or two to disable the barrier before the ship arrived. Quickly, she began inputting a different set of codes to override the system. ERROR: ACTION CANNOT BE FULFILLED. God, why did she have to design her security system so perfectly? She worked in fervent silence, hands flying across the keys. Okoye was looking at the ship on her own projection from her kimoyo beads. 

“The ship is slowing down, but I don’t think it’s going to stop before it hits the barrier.” She reported gravely. Shuri worked faster, typing in a series of commands, cold sweat beginning to form on her brow. 

“30 seconds until impact”  
…  
“20 seconds until impact.”  
…  
“15 seconds until impact.”  
…  
“10 seconds.”  
…  
“7 seconds.”  
…  
Shuri had almost done it. She just had to re-enter her security code and hope it processed fast enough.  
…  
“4 seconds.”  
…  
YES! She tapped enter and waited for the system to disable the barrier. It should only take a second. Relief washed over her. 

ERROR: INCORRECT VERIFICATION CODE

WHAT?!

“2 seconds! Shuri!” Okoye’s voice was sharp with alarm. She stared in horror at the projection. The raccoon recoiled and covered his eyes. Everyone else watched in dread as the ship came closer.

Then, at the very, very last second, the ship veered upwards, it’s thrusters suddenly put into reverse. The ship zoomed high into the air, and then stalled above the barrier. A collective sigh of relief sounded, and both Bruce and the raccoon whooped in their excitement. Shuri, hands shaking at the near-disaster, typed in the correct code. The barrier turned off, and the ship zoomed in and landed as close to the city as it could get, in the plains in the Eastern quadrant. Instantly, it was surrounded by soldiers and some of the Dora Milaje, their weapons raised and pointed at the alien craft.

Oh god, she’d forgotten to warn the guards the inhabitants of the ship were non-hostile. They had to get there quickly, before a fight broke out. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea, because they all ran towards the exit of Shuri’s lab. Shuri attempted to communicate to the soldiers to lower their weapons, but it didn’t seem to be working. They weren’t too far away, though. Their crafts would reach the ship in a matter of minutes. 10 at the max. She just hoped this didn’t prove to be a fatal accident at the expense of the raccoons ‘friends’.  
.  
.  
The ship came into view in 7 minutes, 43 seconds. The soldiers hovered warily around it, spears and other weapons pointed at the craft. One of the soldiers yelled something in the direction of the ship, and Shuri could see a flicker of movement from the ship’s hangar. A figure crept forwards, shrouded in darkness. The soldier shouted again, and they were close enough that she caught most of his sentence. 

“- out slowly! Hands raised!”

The figure remained in the darkness of the ship’s hangar bay however. Suddenly, the soldier closest to the ship fired a flurry of blasts from his spear, aimed at the shadowed figure. They ducked backwards and out of sight. 

“Hey!” Shuri shouted, the craft coming to a stop. She jumped out of it and ran towards them, waving her arms. “Don’t shoot! They’re our allies!!”

The guard whirled around to stare at her in shock. “I-It held s-something up!” He spluttered. Worry flashed through her; maybe these weren’t allies of the raccoon, but someone who had stolen their ship. 

Suddenly, there was an explosion of movement from the hangar of the ship, and Shuri turned in time to see a flash of blue land behind one of her soldiers who had crept forwards to investigate. The creature attacked (It certainly didn’t look human), sending the soldier flying. Immediately, the other soldiers began firing at the newcomer, who managed to dodge all of their blasts and lunged for another man, who held up his shield against the creature’s weapons: a very long dagger and a baton. To her surprise, the blade sliced straight through the vibranium shield, causing the soldier to cry out in fear and leap backwards.

There was the sound of whirring as a machine charged up, and suddenly a pulse of energy shot past and collided with the alien, who had been too slow to dodge. There was a shriek of pain and the blue alien collapsed. The remaining soldiers swarmed around it, weapons raised. The alien writhed on the floor, letting out a snarl and attempting to slash the one closest to it. One of the Dora lifted their vibranium spear, preparing to run the alien through with it. It squirmed, grunting and gasping, trying to regain its feet and escape.

“WAIT!” The raccoon’s voice bellowed from behind her, who had run up beside her and seen the fight unfold. 

The alien on the ground was no longer thrashing about, their struggles growing weaker as it glared defiantly up at the spear-holding Dora, who had frozen at Rabbit’s shout and turned to stare quizzically at the animal. Meanwhile, the alien’s struggles drew weaker still; a slight twitch of their limbs and quiet grunts the only signs that they were still conscious. The raccoon stared at the alien, eyes wide with shock.

“Nebula?? The hell are you doing here??”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, Nebula is going to be p i s s e d when she can move again.
> 
> Sorry this chapter was a bit short, I’m still trying to figure out how to write aha. This is my first ever time writing, so please forgive me. Don’t forget to leave a review and tell me what you think! I’d love to hear your criticism. 
> 
> The next chapter will be a bit longer I believe, and features the Avengers interactions with Nebula quite a bit, if it goes the way I imagine it to. I just think it’ll be interesting to see how they react to another one of Thanos’ children after all that has happened. It should be up in a few days. Anyway, until next time-


	4. We All Still Die

It took Shuri a few seconds to process what was going on, eyes darting between the raccoon and the alien still lying on her belly on the floor. Okay, so, Rabbit knows the alien here, and- she? I think it’s a she- seems to know him too. But Rabbit wasn’t expecting to see her here, judging by his shock, so who exactly was he expecting? And who was this new alien? Were there more of them aboard the ship? Was she hostile and to be treated like an enemy? I mean, she did attack my soldiers, so she isn’t completely non-hostile either way… just- ugh so many questions! Shuri’s head was beginning to throb again due to the thoughts racing through her head, and she took a deep breath to collect herself.

Turning to Rabbit, she asked “Who is this Rabbit? She obviously wasn’t who you were expecting.” The raccoon snapped his gaze up to meet hers, seeming surprised for a moment, before curling his lip into a sneer.

“My name isn’t Rabbit, it’s Rocket, princess.” Huh? But Thor called him- ugh. Nevermind. It didn’t really matter to her what the beast was called, all that mattered right now was figuring out what the actual hell was going on. Rocket returned his glare to the alien on the dusty ground. 

“Her name’s Nebula. She’s my friend’s sister. Tried to murder me once, but we’re okay for now, I guess. She’s still a bit of a bitch sometimes though.” He informed her, baring his teeth in a snarl down at Nebula, who glared at him with just as much hatred. They didn’t seem to like each other that much.

“Is she a threat?” Shuri questioned, eyeing Nebula warily. She was still twitching from getting hit by the electrical pulse ray. Rocket regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, before wrinkling his nose and turning away from her, starting towards his ship, tail twitching. 

“I would like to say she’s fine, but after hitting her with that weird cannon thing, I think you ought to tie her up. She ain’t gonna be happy when she can move again.” He called over his shoulder. Shuri nodded curtly, even though the raccoon had his back turned, and stepped towards Nebula, holding out her right hand.

“Cuffs, please.” She requested crisply. The Dora who had almost killed Nebula pulled a set of Vibranium Energy Stabilised hand cuffs from her belt and placed them in Shuri’s waiting palm. Shuri dipped her head in thanks. “Stand down. We can take it from here.” She dismissed the guards with a nod towards the Avengers, before leaning over the alien who had finally stopped twitching, but was still giving her a very heated glare. She could almost feel it searing her skin. 

Pulling Nebula’s limp arms which had been splayed out beside her behind her back, she slipped on the cuffs and activated them. A bright beam of energy surged between the cuffs, and they moulded to the shape of her wrists, securing them in place. 

Shuri noted with growing curiosity that the woman had a metal arm. In fact, the alien had multiple metal parts; a metal plate on her head, metal surrounding her eye, and she was sure she could see the glint of metal at her legs. No wonder the electric pulse ray had had such an effect on her. 

“Stop that.” The alien’s voice was cold and hard, and Shuri jumped with surprise. She had almost forgotten that the woman could speak; she had been so invested with staring at the metal parts that she almost thought she was staring at a lifeless piece of machinery. A slight pang of guilt swept through her at the thought; the woman had obviously been in a lot of pain from the hit, she should try to be more sympathetic. She glanced around, trying to locate the rest of her team; most of the Avengers had boarded the ship with Rocket, but she spotted Natasha was hovering close by her, hand resting casually on her weapon and watching Nebula suspiciously. Shuri glanced back down at Nebula.

“Stop what?” She prompted curiously.

“Stop studying me.” Nebula snarled, attempting to lift her head to glare at Shuri more directly. “I’m not some creature for your inspection.” It was apparently a bad idea to lift her head, as she let it drop back down with a gasp, and her limbs jerked momentarily. Waves of anger, pain and humiliation emanated from her, and Shuri pushed down a wave of sympathy. She could’ve been killed by that pulse ray. She must be in excessive amounts of pain at the moment.

Deciding she didn’t want to have Nebula lying in the dirt like an animal, she called Natasha over for assistance, and together they managed to pull the incapacitated woman over to the craft they had arrived at the site with and lifted her into it, so she was sitting up with more dignity than she had had while lying on the ground. The woman groaned and shook her head, apparently not yet recovered from her hit from the ray gun. Suddenly, her limbs jerked and her eyes flew open in shock and she gasped in pain, twisting her head- with some difficulty- to look at the ship in dull horror. 

“Tony!” She shouted, seemingly trying to get her unresponsive limbs to move.

“What?” Natasha’s eyes snapped up to meet Nebula’s. “Did you just say-“

“TONY!” A collective cry sounded from the ship, and moments later Bruce and Thor appeared, carrying Tony Stark’s limp body between them and moving hurriedly towards the ship. Natasha leaped out of the vehicle to meet them, helping them to drag the unconscious man’s body up to the craft. Shuri turned and activated the engine of the hovercraft, preparing to speed them back to the hospital. It was obvious Tony needed serious medical attention, and fast. 

Suddenly, a dark shape streaked past the approaching Avengers and let out a snarl of fury, and Shuri glimpsed Rocket as he darted forwards, jumping up onto the craft and landing in front of Nebula. 

“WHERE ARE THEY?!” He bellowed, ears flat and tail lashing, eyes narrowed to slits. Nebula pursed her lips and didn’t answer, and even dropped her gaze, her dark eyes now resting on her bound hands. 

“Where. ARE. THEY?” He howled again, this time punctuating each word with a vicious kick to her shins. The woman winced, unable to move or defend herself, but still didn’t answer. Rocket let out a snarl and raised one clawed paw, preparing to rake it across her face, and she narrowed her eyes, anticipating the blow. 

Shuri lunged forwards and grabbed his furry arm before he could swipe at her though. “STOP. We can’t afford to do this now. Tony is hurt, we must get him to the hospital. Immediately.” She commanded, gripping his arm tightly. The raccoon snapped at her hand, and she flinched away from him, but didn’t drop her gaze.

“I don’t give an Orloni’s ass about Tony, whoever the hell he is!” He hissed. “They’re not there! They’re all- They’re all gone!” His voice cracked at the end, and his legs suddenly buckled, apparently unable to support his weight any longer. He still managed to glare up at Nebula though, and he forced out his next words through gritted teeth. “Tell me you were just being an absolute piece of shit and you left them behind. Tell me you left them somewhere!” Nebula looked away, her eyes clouding suddenly, and she shook her head. 

“They disappeared.” She whispered hoarsely. Shuri realised they were talking about the raccoon’s friends. Didn’t he say that one of them was Nebula’s sister? Shuri felt another wave of sympathy wash over her. She knew what it was like to lose a sibling. Rocket hung his head, a thin wail throbbing in his throat, becoming louder and louder until it was just one, ear-splitting screech of rage and pain. Shuri winced and turned away, unable to bear witnessing his raw grief.

The Avenger’s had finally arrived at the craft and hauled Tony’s unconscious form onto the vehicle; she didn’t need to give him more than a cursory inspection to see he was dying. They needed to move. Now.

“Okoye. You drive. I want you to floor it until we get back to the hospital.” She ordered, hopping into the back of the craft and beginning to remove the last shreds of Tony’s shirt to better see the damage.

“Yes my Queen.” Okoye dipped her head and swept past her into the driver’s sear, and the hovercraft lurched suddenly when she hit the accelerator, speeding back towards the hospital.

“I tried to get him here as fast as possible.” Nebula’s quiet voice cut through Shuri’s thoughts, and she glanced up in surprise at her almost soft tone. Her gaze was dull as she stared down at him, and her face suddenly twisted with an expression she couldn’t recognise before she looked away again. Shuri returned her attention to Tony’s body, but between Rocket’s sobs and the wind whistling in her ears as they sped through the streets of Wakanda, all she could think of is how much she wanted her brother back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very sorry for the short chapter, I've been trying to find my motivation to write but it's fading a bit at the moment, that's why I started a new story! As a break from this as I figure out how to write properly and to get me back into writing when I start to slow down. Fluff is just easier to write, is it not?


	5. Feet Don't Fail Me Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm getting to more interesting parts! Don't worry!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Feet Don't Fail Me Now by Foxes

Okoye forbade Shuri from helping Tony once they arrived at the hospital. Shuri had been surprised and a little outraged, but she had to admit, Okoye had had a point.

“My Queen! You have not yet been checked over yourself! You have sustained a head injury! You cannot operate on him in the state you are!” She had exclaimed, and when Shuri opened her mouth to protest, she cut her off before she could speak. “Look! Your hands are shaking! You can’t expect to operate on him with shaking hands. You might hurt him further.” 

Shuri had reluctantly agreed to stay away from the operating rooms and slunk back into the waiting rooms. The line was quite extensive. Not just because people were hurt, but because the people had no idea where their loved ones were, and so they stayed in the hospital to see if they had been injured. Sobs filled the room, and when she scanned the crowd dully, all she could see was grief-stricken faces and confusion. With a jolt of horror, she realised she would have to be the one who oversaw the process of tallying up the numbers and names of the deceased. Shaking her head, she stumbled towards the exit of the hospital, trying to avoid catching anyone’s eyes so she could get away without being approached.

“Excuse me? Queen Shuri?” A small voice piped up timidly behind her, and she turned slowly to see a little boy standing there holding a small, soft toy, eyes huge as he gazed up at her. “Do you know where my mama is?” Pain tore at her heart as she looked into his pleading eyes. Slowly, she shook her head. A hand reached out and tugged the boy away from her gently, and a man with eyes glazed with shock and grief murmured “I’m sorry, my Queen. He is just scared.” 

Shuri nodded at him in understanding, showing she forgave them. Not that there was much to forgive. The boy was obviously frightened, and as Queen, she was most likely to have answers. She didn’t have any, though. Standing here would do no one any good, and so she turned and continued walking towards the exit, slightly more quickly. 

The walk back to her home was silent. The Dora and her other soldiers had told everyone to stay inside for the duration of the battle, and it seemed that not everyone was ready to come out again. She didn’t blame them. 

Suddenly, there was a loud crash a little further up ahead, and she heard someone curse angrily. Hurrying over, alarm flashing through her, she peeked over a stand that had belonged to one of the many market people, and saw Nebula sitting next to a heap of broken wood and fruit. She must’ve accidentally knocked a crate of fruit off of the stand. As if sensing Shuri’s gaze, she snapped her head around to glare at her as she scrambled to her feet.

Nebula had refused help getting to the hospital once they had arrived at the heart of Wakanda. Stubbornly, she had said she could make it where she needed to go herself, despite only just being able to regain minor control of her limbs. It seemed as though she was having trouble finding her way there. With a weary smile, Shuri pointed back the way she had come.

“The hospital is that way. I can show you where if you want.” She offered.

Nebula snorted. “I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

Surprise flashed through Shuri. “What do you mean? You can hardly walk properly.”

Nebula glared at her. “And whose fault is that?”

“Hey! You attacked my soldiers!” Shuri retorted defensively.

“Because they shot at me! I didn’t hurt them! I was disarming them, and then they shot me with that electromagnetic pulse!” Nebula snarled back.

“It’s an electrical pulse ray.” Shuri corrected automatically, beginning to feel impatient. “Look, I’m sorry you got shot. Can I help in any way?” 

Nebula relaxed slightly, looking surprised by the apology. “I need to know what that machine did. And then I need to get back onto the Guardian’s ship. It has all my tools on it.”

Tools? Shuri tipped her head, peering at the woman curiously. “That’s a long way away.” She began slowly. “I’m sure I have some tools that you can use back at my lab. And on the way I can explain what the ray does.” Nebula stared at her, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Shuri half expected her to refuse, but was surprised when the woman gave her a curt nod and swept her hand in a ’lead the way’ motion. 

Smiling inwardly at her triumph, she began walking briskly in the direction of her lab, Nebula staggering awkwardly behind her, almost painfully slow. Shuri turned to survey her quickly. Nebula huffed with every step, and Shuri could tell she was feeling embarrassed at her inability to walk properly.

“Come on, let me help you.” Shuri offered, extending her hand to the struggling woman. Nebula opened her mouth to snap at her, anger flashing in her eyes, but Shuri continued on smoothly, cutting her off. “It’ll be faster if I help you. And the sooner we get to my lab, the sooner you can walk by yourself again.” Nebula still looked angry and ready to protest, her gaze sharp. Shuri kept her gaze calm and impassive, her hand still held out before her. Nebula hesitated for a few more moment, before she rolled her eyes and accepted Shuri’s hand. 

Shuri put her arm around Nebula’s shoulders, and put Nebula’s arm around hers, and the two began walking slightly awkwardly, but much more quickly towards Shur’s lab. It was silent between the two women for a few minutes as they hobbled along the streets, before Nebula spoke again.

“The ray. What does it do?” She prompted. Oh, right. Shuri had almost forgotten that part of the deal.

“It’s an electrical pulse cannon. It fires a specialised electrical pulse at the target and fries all of the internal systems except for life support and emergency systems other than the backup generators and such that would restore power, rendering the target useless.”

Nebula’s non-mechanical eyebrow rose at her explanation. “So it isn’t used for combat against people.” She clarified. Shuri ducked her head, embarrassment flooding her body.

“No, it’s not.” She replied reluctantly. “It’s used usually as an anti-aircraft weapon, which is why it was brought to your ship.” She paused and blinked at Nebula, narrowing her eyes slightly. “I’m actually quite surprised you’re still alive.” She confessed quietly. “It’s very high voltage. It probably would’ve killed a normal person, especially at close range.”

Nebula huffed, and for the first time Shuri caught some amusement in her tone. If not derisive amusement. “It takes more than a glorified taser to kill me.” She snorted, before falling silent for a moment, looking thoughtful. “My heart and brain and other organs must behave like life support systems, which is why it didn’t kill me.”

Shock flashed through Shuri, and she let out a startled ‘oh’ sound. Organs, too? Was she an android robot thing, sort of like Vision? She didn’t ask, because if she wasn’t it would be incredibly insensitive and rude of her. The rest of the trip to her lab was silent, save for the occasional annoyed grunt Nebula made when her leg wouldn’t respond the way she wanted it to. 

Once inside, Shuri helped the woman onto a bench, where she caught her breath and began examining her robotic arm. Shuri searched her lab for her scanner and various other tools, unsure of what Nebula would need to fix her body. Setting them all beside her on the bench, she stepped back and held up the scanner. She could have used her kimoyo beads, but this scanner would be more extensive and give more information on Nebula’s injuries. 

“I need you to stand so I can scan you.” Shuri told her, beckoning her with her hand for emphasis. Nebula hesitated for a moment, clearly uncomfortable as she eyed Shuri distrustfully. Eventually however, she stood, slowly pushing herself off the bench and to her feet. Shuri quickly scanned her and began examining the image, but Nebula held out her hand.

“Give it to me.” She snapped harshly, extending her fingers. Shuri blinked at her in shock, but numbly handed her the scanner. In the few seconds she had seen the scan, she had seen what a mess Nebula’s body was. Metal bones, wires and veins blending together, strange artificial organs… it was terrible. From the look on Nebula’s face, Shuri knew the woman knew that she had seen it. Her face twisted into an unrecognisable expression, and Shuri felt her skin crawl slightly at the frightening look she was giving her. 

After a moment though, her eyes dropped back to her scan and she began rummaging through the tools Shuri had supplied her, apparently looking for the right ones.

“You can leave.” She said quietly, and Shuri knew it wasn’t an offer. “I can fix this by myself. I don’t need your help.” Shuri nodded numbly and waved awkwardly, hurrying to take her leave. As she disappeared out of the lab, however, she heard Nebula let out a sigh, and she turned to see the woman frowning at the scanner in her hands, eyebrows furrowed. She pushed down a wave of worry. If she needed her, she would find her.

Shuri walked the halls of the Palace aimlessly. She had no idea what to do. She was now queen of a nation in a world that had lost half of its population in seconds. Her new kingdom was sheltering aliens, war criminals and talking animals. What was she going to do? 

Her thoughts drifted back to Nebula and her mangled body. Who would be so careless with a person? Who could be so cruel that they would tear apart a young woman and put her back together into some amalgamation? It looked so painful, Shuri thought with a wave of sympathy. The places where metal met flesh were so messy… what kind of monster would do that to someone? Was there anyone in the universe that cruel? 

Considering their current predicament, maybe there was.


	6. You hunt down the good in me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from The Good In Me by Jon Bellion

Tensions ran high in almost every country in the days following the Dusting, as people were taking to calling it. Some of the world leaders had disappeared, there was almost a nuclear meltdown in Japan and across the globe there were fires, explosions, car accidents and homeless children to deal with. People were panicking. People were afraid. And people were turning on each other. Looking for someone to blame. 

At first, people hadn’t known what to think as their loved ones disintegrated before their eyes. Then, talk turned to God and other religious deities, calling the Dusting the ‘Day of Reckoning’. Then others described it as an act of terrorism, and although no one had any clue how Russia or Iraq had managed to do what they had apparently done, talk of war began filling the media as world powers prepared their weapons to ‘strike back’. 

Shuri, the leader of the only country who knew it to be Thanos, had been called to an emergency meeting to the UN to explain what had happened. The young monarch had been gone for almost a week and a half, and she had left Okoye and Steve Rogers in charge while she was gone. And so there they were. In charge.

Okoye instantly began tallying the names and numbers of the deceased, ordering patrols to go door to door turning off appliances and checking for orphaned children. The hospitals were in overdrive, working to heal the people left in the rubble of the world’s defeat. It was tragic, walking the streets to see people crying, sweeping the dust from the floor into urns and handing them out randomly, because, well, who knew who they were sweeping. Steve mostly did whatever he was told, but had made sure to check in with Pepper for Tony, who was currently comatose in a hospital room. She had been frantic, but relieved to hear that he was still alive, and had travelled as fast as she could out to reach him. She didn’t leave his side after that.

Steve had checked in on Tony himself twice, not that he was sure Tony would appreciate it. On the second occasion, he had found a colourful, rectangular box full of dust at his bedside. He didn’t know who had put it there, or what the significance of it was, but he could guess. After all, the Spiderboy from Queens still hadn’t turned up, and from what Steve had heard from others, the two had been working together closely in his absence. It twisted Steve’s heart, remembering the disappearance of his closest friend Bucky, and countless others. He knew what loss felt like, and knew that Tony felt it close to his own heart too. So he had made sure the box was put somewhere safe, where it wouldn’t be thrown out until Tony’s awakening.

Between ensuring the safety of the Wakandan people and running ‘errands’ for Okoye, Steve also made sure he was keeping tabs on their new, strange arrivals. 

Nebula had disappeared from Shuri’s lab a day after the young queen had transported her there for… repairing herself. Thor had said he’d seen her returning to the Guardians of the Galaxy’s (as they apparently liked to be called) ship. Rocket, the raccoon, had stayed in the woods beyond the plains where they had fought Thanos for a few days before returning to the city to ‘help out’. If ‘help out’ meant dismantling anything he could reach and putting it back together into some stranger new weapon.

According to Thor, Nebula was the sister of a friend of Rocket’s named Gamora, as the raccoon had apparently told him. The animal himself had been keeping to himself and seemingly only talking to Thor, otherwise remaining scarcely seen. But he was known to disappear back into the woods every so often, apparently returning to their battlefield. Although, Steve had no clue as to why.

Nebula was even less of a help than Rocket, creeping through the streets like some strange, blue shadow. She didn’t talk to anyone, and the only reason she wasn’t locked up is because Thor had insisted that if Rocket trusted her, they should. Not that Steve would call Rocket ‘trusting’ of Nebula. She didn’t sleep in the palace like everyone else. She didn’t appear to eat. Or talk. Or sleep at all, even. She just watched, her dark eyes surveying the efforts around her with a cold, yet interested gaze, but never actually offering to help out.

It was finally the day Queen Shuri was due to return, and Steve honestly thought that he and Okoye had done a really good job of keeping her country safe, when suddenly, 12 days after The Dusting, Steve received an urgent call to one of the Wakandan market places, claiming an alien was attacking.

There was panic and chaos after that. People running in the streets, screaming, as Steve rushed as fast as he could to the sector, accompanied by Okoye and some of the Dora on one of their hover vehicles He was honestly expecting to see Nebula or Rocket, or even Thanos himself, but was surprised to find a writhing, shrieking ‘space dog’, as the raccoon had called it. It’s black, slimy body thrashed as it tried to escape something attached to its leg. It appeared to be some kind of bear trap, although Steve had no clue why Wakanda would have any need for those.

It whirled and screeched, attacking the soldier closest to it and sending them flying backwards into a wall. It tried to scramble after its prey, but the object attached to its leg kept it pinned to the spot. It shrieked in agony and frustration.

“Surround it and close in!” Steve barked, holding up his shield. If they could get close enough to it, one of them might be able to spear it in the head and kill it. The soldiers circled it instantly, spears drawn, when suddenly someone spoke from behind Steve.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Nebula drawled. Steve spun to face her in shock. The alien was leaning on a wall casually, although he noticed she was keeping her weight off of her left side. Steve stared at her, puzzled.

“What do you mean?” He asked. “Why shouldn’t we kill it?”

Nebula’s gaze was sharp and calculating as she eyed the strange creature before her. “The princess returns today, correct?”

Okoye glared at her from where she stood opposite Steve, on the other side of the creature. “That’s Queen to you.” She snapped. “And what does that have to do with anything? This… alien is threatening her people!” She spat out the word ‘alien’ like it was a curse word.

“You shouldn’t kill it so that the… Queen… can study it.” Nebula responded, turning her cold stare onto Okoye. “Subdue it. It’s a weapon. Thanos will have more of them. The best way to defeat your enemy is to understand it.” She curled her lip suddenly “But don’t take it from me. I’m just an alien.” Then, she whipped around and stalked away, offering no assistance, but Steve could see her left leg twitching slightly as she walked. Steve and Okoye were left to figure out a way to eliminate the threat without killing it, and transport it back to Shuri’s lab where it could be contained.

They decided to use a vibranium energy net to weaken it and transport it, but it still proved difficult to move, despite being unable to fight back as energy arced across its skin. Its sharp teeth gleamed in the Wakandan sunlight as its powerful jaws snapped at the net, unsuccessfully trying to free itself. Its muscles rippled under its tarry black skin, and Steve remembered how difficult they were to kill. They were easy enough to stun with a few well-placed blows, but they came back eager for more far too quickly for his liking.

He wondered how studying the injured, disgusting creature would help them win the war against Thanos, but remembering the calculating look in Nebula’s eyes, Steve had a sneaking suspicion Nebula wanted to do something with this beast herself, or at least knew more about it than she let on; he just couldn’t figure out what or why.

-+-

Shuri was indeed pleased that they had captured the alien for her examination, although with the revelation that one of them had survived for studying came the alarming thought that more had survived. She had instantly sent out surveying drones right across Wakanda, searching for any more beasts that had slipped past her soldiers. So far, no other living aliens were found. 

Nebula had gone to the palace apparently after disappearing, because she leaned against a wall and watched Shuri and the others as they bustled about her lab, bringing out all kinds of data on the alien creature from Steve didn’t know where. Shuri didn’t seem to mind her presence, though. She didn’t seem to notice anyone else when she was working at all, in fact. She was very focused when she had something to do. She was murmuring to herself as she examined the anatomy of the still-shrieking creature, a fascinated look on her face.

“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before!” She exclaimed, turning around to show Bruce the display, who had been following her around the lab like a curious dog, watching her fiddle with her amazing technology. “Look at its bones! They’re so thick and strong, they almost look like they’re made out of –“

“- Metal.” Nebula interrupted, pushing herself off the wall easily to stride forwards and snatch the display off of Bruce and examine it herself. “They’re called Outriders. They’re cybernetically engineered creatures related to the Chitauri species which- I believe- are the ones Thanos sent to invade Earth a few years ago.” She explained, zooming in on one of the bones of the ‘outrider’. Her sharp eyes scanned the image momentarily before she zoomed in on another aspect of the outrider. Seemingly sensing everyone’s eyes on her, her gaze flickered up to glance around momentarily before continuing. “Some of their bones are metal. They are supposed to kill whatever they are told to, even if they kill themselves doing it. It makes them very good weapons if you need to outnumber your opponent, but they are very unskilled and easy to kill if you have the right tools.” She glanced at Shuri. “Which, apparently, you do.”

Steve narrowed his eyes at her. “You seem to know quite a bit about them. Why didn’t you mention any of this before?”

“It didn’t seem critically important before, seeing as we didn’t have a live specimen. And as for how I know so much about them, I had to. Otherwise I wouldn’t have survived past childhood.”

Confusion rippled through the room, and the Avengers glanced between themselves, perplexed.

“And that means…?” Steve prompted when nobody else spoke up.

Nebula glanced away. “I trained around them a lot." She replied evasively. "I had to know how to deal with them if they attacked me. And considering they are driven by bloodlust, those occurrences were frequent.” 

Surprise and suspicion flashed through Steve. “But you said that Thanos had these… outrider creatures working under him. If you were trained around these things… You must have trained near him.” His hand subconsciously moved towards his weapon, a blaster Okoye had given him to ‘defend himself’. Was Nebula connected to Thanos? Was that why he felt so uneasy around her?

Nebula seemed to have noticed the tension in the room, and the way almost everyone had reached for their weapons at once, because she handed the display back to Bruce and stepped back. Suddenly, a low chuckle sounded from the corner of the room, getting louder and louder until it was just a howl of derisive, obnoxious laughter.

“You didn’t tell them??” Rocket burst out once his laughter had subsided enough for him to speak. He padded to the centre of the room, almost right in front of Nebula. He swayed slightly on the spot. Was he drunk?

“Didn’t tell us what?” Natasha’s voice was sharp with anger, her hand on her gun.

Nebula opened her mouth to speak, but Rocket cut her off. “Nebula’s a freakin’ Child of Thanos!” He exclaimed, eyes suddenly wild with a mixture of emotions Steve couldn’t recognise. “Her dad’s the one who wiped out half the universe a few days ago! Those douchebags who attacked us? They’re her family!” Nebula’s hands were now on her own weapons, and she glared at Rocket furiously. The raccoon turned to face her, a sneer pulling at his lips. “That outrider o’er there is probably ‘er second cousin or some shit.”

That was the last straw for Nebula. She pulled her electric batons from her belt and activated them, turning on Rocket with a snarl. “They’re no family of mine!” She hissed, lunging at the raccoon. The Avengers instantly swarmed forwards with their own weapons, aiming them at Nebula. Rocket dodged her furious blow, cackling. He pulled the strange gun-looking weapon from his back and pointed it at her, the wild light in his eyes still there.

“Drop your weapons!” Steve ordered, levelling his blaster at Nebula’s heart. His own heart pounded in his chest. Was this right? To trust the words of a drunken animal and imprison her before she had a chance to explain herself? But he couldn’t push down the wave of anger that was threatening to engulf him. This alien was Thanos’ child. He’d frankly had enough of Thanos’ children.

Nebula’s eyes flickered from his gun to his face, before glancing around the room, apparently considering her options. Realising she had no chance in a fight against all of them, she lowered her weapons to the floor, glowering at Rocket the whole time. Instantly, Okoye stepped forwards and activated the same handcuffs that had been put on Nebula the day she had first arrived, slipping them over the blue alien’s wrists. “This is only until we figure out what’s going on.” Okoye explained, stepping back and allowing Nebula, now cuffed, to stand up.

“If she’s a child of Thanos shouldn’t we kill her now?” Natasha demanded angrily.

“No! We have to question her! She could have information on Thanos’ whereabouts!” Okoye shot back.

“But she’s dangerous!”

“She’s valuable! We cannot kill her unless we have information against her, or reason to believe she would turn against us.”

“I can give you plenty o’ that.” Rocket put in, sneering.

“No! No one is touching her!” Shuri slammed her hand onto the table, startling everyone. “It is innocent until proven guilty. But we will need to question her. Okoye, take her to one of the interrogation rooms.”

“I have done nothing to you. I don’t see why you’re punishing me. I saved Stark’s life. I fought on his side. And this is how you repay me?” Nebula hissed, swinging her head around to glare at Shuri. “Is this how justice works in your country?” Shuri looked conflicted for a moment, and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again, emotion clouding her expression before she looked away. Steve realised she was probably thinking of her brother, and a wave of sympathy swept over him. She was so young, but had already borne so much suffering.

“How do we know any o’ that’s true?” Rocket scoffed, interrupting Steve’s thoughts, weapon still raised. “How do we know you weren’t workin’ with yer old man, and stabbed the guy? Or how do we know you aint fakin’ all o’ this shit?” He swayed slightly again, but the anger in his eyes was clear.

Nebula scowled at him. “You think I would work with my father after what he did to me?” She snarled. “It’s not my fault the tree is dead. It’s not my fault any of them are dead! Quill is the one who couldn’t wait two more seconds to punch Thanos! They almost had the gauntlet off and he ruined it! YOUR moronic family! Not mine!”

Silence filled the room. They… they’d almost had the gauntlet? Rocket stilled, his face blank with shock. Then, he shook his head, his face scrunching up into a snarl. “You’re lyin’.” He spat, ears flat. 

“No I’m not!” Nebula spat back! “It’s that idiot Quill’s fault we’re in this mess now! And he’s the reason that Gamora –!“ She broke off suddenly, turning away, but Rocket wasn’t listening.  
“Call ‘em stupid or moronic one more time!” He howled. “Do it again and I’ll shoot you!”

Nebula leaned forwards, eyes slitted. “It’s their own fault that they died.” She rasped. “Not mine. They killed themselves, and half of the universe with them and you know why?” Her eyes smouldered with anger. Rocket didn’t reply, choosing instead to bare his teeth at her. 

“Because they’re stupid.”

With a howl of rage, Rocket fired his weapon at her. It hit her point-blank in the chest, causing a small-scale explosion that threw her across the room and into the wall. Cracks spider webbed through the stone at the point of impact, and she fell to the ground with a loud crunch.

Everyone gaped at Rocket in shock and horror. What the hell just happened?? Shuri raced over to Nebula’s side, fear and worry in her eyes, but it was clear that the alien was dead, her bones twisted and broken unnaturally around her. There was nothing the young queen could do. Steve felt a wave of disgust and anger wash over him as he turned back to Rocket.

Natasha and Thor advanced on the raccoon, weapons raised.

“How could you kill her? She could have helped us defeat Thanos!” Thor bellowed, his normally kind, good-humoured eyes dark with anger.

“’Kill her’?” Rocket let out a derisive snort. “I didn’t kill her. She’ll be back soon enough.” He slung his weapon over his shoulder and glared daggers at Nebula’s broken body.

“What do you mean ‘she’ll be back’?” Steve exclaimed. “Look at her! She – “

Steve was cut off by wail of shock and terror, and he spun around to see Shuri scrambling backwards away from Nebula’s body, eyes wide with dismay. A sharp snapping sound echoed around the room, followed by a crunch and whirr of machinery, and Nebula’s arm suddenly moved, snapping back into place with a gasp of pain. Nebula let out a low howl of agony and frustration as the rest of her bones shifted and crunched beneath her skin.

Everyone stood silently, stiff with horror, unable to tear their eyes from the gruesome scene. Finally, the last bone snapped back into place and Nebula let out a shuddering breath, slowly standing up. Bruce turned around and retched. Nebula’s left leg still jutted out unnaturally and Nebula grunted when she tried to put weight on it, wincing in pain. Shuri stood up too, trembling.

“W-What was that?” Shuri asked in a small voice, her wide eyes fixed on Nebula’s leg, still twisted. Nebula’s only response was another grunt.

“Which way are the interrogation rooms?” She huffed, glaring at Rocket, who glared back.

“I… I’ll take you. Okoye, you stay here and make sure… nothing happens.” With a nod to Okoye, Shuri hurried over to Nebula’s side, but didn’t offer her any help as the alien limped up the spiral walkway to the exit of her lab, staying a respectful distance away from her. Nebula didn’t ask for any help, either, so everyone who was left watched their slow progression up the stairs, still shell-shocked by what they had just witnessed.

Rocket had known she would be able to heal herself from that blast. Was it a regular occurrence? Steve watched her limp up the final stairs, not missing the gasp of pain when she reached the top. An unwanted wave of sympathy washed over him. Her father had killed Bucky. Had killed so many of his friends. Had destroyed half of the universe. He couldn’t help the slight pang of anger he felt towards her, but pushed it away, reminding himself that it wasn’t her fault. She wasn’t the one who had killed all of those people. So why did he feel so much resentment towards her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so... SORRY FOR NOT POSTING IN A WHILE!!! I really feel like I need to be in the right *mood* to write for this story, because it needs a lot more thought and effort than my other, more fluffy story. (Not that I don't put effort into my other one! I just want this one to be a little bit deeper). 
> 
> ANyway, Nebula's leg isn't working still, because the electric pulse ray fried her cybernetics so bad that they're still a bit jittery, and she still won't ask anyone for help. She's stubborn like that. That's why it didn't heal but DONT WORRY SHE WONT BE CRIPPLED FOR LONG!!! And you'll understand a bit more of Rocket and Nebula's rivalry later on.
> 
> Tell me what you thought of this chapter!


	7. Let me show you everything I know...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nebula spills the beans. Kinda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Gooey by Glass Animals.

Shuri waited until they were well away from her lab to offer Nebula assistance. She knew the woman would at least want to save her pride from the raccoon’s blast. For a few moments Nebula didn’t respond to her offer, stubbornly limping forwards, letting out soft grunts of pain with each step. After a few more agonising paces forwards, however, she swung around to glare at Shuri.

“Fine.” She hissed, holding out her arm stiffly for Shuri to take. Triumph flashed through the young queen as she wrapped Nebula’s arm around her shoulders once again, guiding her to the interrogation rooms slowly. The cuffs she had been wearing had been destroyed by Rocket’s explosion, but Shuri didn’t feel that she needed to put on new ones. For now. 

Shuri noticed that Nebula’s body vibrated beneath her fingertips with each step, the mechanical parts whirring. It was an odd sensation, to say the least.

The two didn’t speak to each other at all as they made their way down halls and staircases, finally reaching an elevator that would take them down to the centre of the mountain, where prisoners were held for interrogation. Nebula panted slightly inside the elevator as she caught her breath, eyes half closed, her metal and non-metal eyebrows drawn together in a frown. 

Shuri watched her carefully. She wasn’t sure how to feel, exactly. The discovery that Nebula was the daughter of the universe’s worst enemy was certainly a shock, and Shuri had a million questions about it, but her emotions regarding Nebula’s presence were definitely mixed at the moment. 

Once the elevator arrived at their destination, Shuri led Nebula to one of the interrogation rooms and unlocked the door, before bringing the other woman inside and letting her slump down into a metal chair, across a table from Shuri’s seat.

Nebula lifted her leg, examining it with a wince. It was bent at almost a 45-degree angle, and Shuri could see wires poking out at the break.

“Go and get the tools from last time.” Nebula grunted, letting her leg fall back down with a grimace. “Please.” She added as an afterthought.

Shuri narrowed her eyes. She didn’t have to take orders from the alien woman who was currently her prisoner. She readied herself to refuse, but at seeing the woman’s pained expression, she felt a slightly unwanted pang of sympathy twist her heart and knew she had to fetch the tools for her. 

But did the alien deserve her sympathy? She was the daughter of the man that had killed all those people. Her people. Her brother. Her mother. The raccoon had said she was a criminal. The thoughts jolted her out of her sympathy, and she felt an unexpected coldness towards the woman before her. 

‘Wait! SHE didn’t kill them!’ Shuri reminded herself. ‘But she could have been involved in killing them? But I don’t know if that’s true! But that doesn’t mean she’s entitled to my help… I can’t let her suffer like she is though, can I?’

Nebula tilted her head at her, eyes flashing at Shuri’s hesitation. “You blame me, don’t you?”

Shuri jumped at her words, guilt sweeping through her. She took a moment to compose herself, carefully controlling her voice so that no anger seeped in. “No. But… There are still things I need to find out. I don’t know what to think of you until then.”

Nebula looked away. “Tools first. Then I’ll talk.”

Shuri felt a stab of annoyance. She was in no position to be making demands. But there was something about this alien woman that fascinated her. She was rude, graceless and mean, sure, but Shuri could tell she was smart. Shuri respected intelligent people. Nebula had information that she needed right now. So, she inclined her head in a small nod before turning and heading back to her lab, locking the security doors behind her. She bumped into Okoye on the way back up.

“Okoye! What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be watching Rocket!” Shuri exclaimed.

“The raccoon is being watched by Thor. They left shortly after you did.” Okoye reassured her. “I came down to make sure you were alright. Did the alien give you any trouble?”

Shuri’s skin prickled slightly at hearing Okoye say that word. Alien. Like it was a bad thing. Given their past run-ins with aliens, it probably was, though. Shaking off her discomfort, Shuri waved her hand dismissively. 

“No trouble. Not that she could give me any even if she wanted to. She’s injured. I’m going to fetch some tools so she can repair herself.”

Okoye looked surprised. “Really? You’re going to help her?”

Shuri frowned. “She hasn’t done anything wrong.” She pointed out, pushing down her own misgivings. “Besides, she won’t talk until I give her the tools.”

Okoye narrowed her eyes. “I could probably make her answer our questions,” she growled.

“No, it’s fine. She’s in pain. And uh… I’d like to talk to her privately, at first. You can stand outside and watch and listen and I’ll call you in when I’m done.”

“But that’s not how it’s done!” Okoye protested. “When dealing with an interrogation, we –“ she broke off when she noticed Shuri’s expression. Okoye ducked her head, embarrassed. “Yes my queen. I will wait here for your return.” She mumbled. Shuri nodded at her gratefully and continued her journey back to her lab.

It was empty when she arrived, and she found her tools back on the bench where she had left them with Nebula, except they were… different. Absolutely, perfectly spotless, arranged neatly in a line on the table. Shuri was always considerably clean when it came to her work, and often cleaned her tools, but they hadn’t looked this good in a long time. Had Nebula done this? She found this thought surprising, and felt a hint of warmth return for the strange woman. Shuri made a mental note to ask her about it later. At a more appropriate time. She also spotted the scanner on the table, and wondered if the data about Nebula’s body had been wiped from it already. She made another mental note to check it after the interrogation. Yeesh, so much stuff to remember.

Arms full of tools, Shuri descended back to the interrogation rooms, finding Okoye right where she had left her. The woman’s back was straight, and she had an incredibly serious expression on her face. Shuri hadn’t seen her look this formal in a long time. Shuri nodded at her with a small, kind smile.

“I’ll tell you when to come in,” she promised. Okoye dipped her head and stood beside the door as Shuri tapped in the code to the security locks before stepping through the now open doors. She sealed the doors behind her again, not that she expected Nebula to make a break for it in any case.

“Here.” She dropped the tools on the table in front of Nebula before taking a seat across from her in the other chair. Nebula instantly began rummaging through them, frowning as she searched for the right one. The white lights in the small room glinted off of her bionic parts, and Shuri gazed at them thoughtfully. They were functional…

But they could still be improved.

Pushing these thoughts to the back of her mind for now, Shuri cleared her throat to gain Nebula’s attention, before diving straight in.

“So, you’re Thanos’ daughter?” She questioned, a little bit unsure of how else to begin.

Nebula didn’t answer for a few moments, lifting up her broken leg and inspecting it careful. Then, she nodded slowly. “Formerly known. Still recognised as it across most galaxies, however.”

“Formerly?”

“My sister and I betrayed Thanos and left him a few years ago.” Finally finding the right tool, Nebula used it to pry open a panel on her leg, wincing, before pulling out a few wires.

“Your sister? One of Rocket’s friends, and part of the… the Guardians, right?”

“Gamora was one of them, yes.” Nebula’s voice was terse, eyes trained on her leg. She didn’t appear to enjoy talking about her sister. Shuri knew how it felt.

“I’m… sorry for your loss.” Shuri offered, tilting he head.

“So am I. It shouldn’t have happened.”

“No it shouldn’t.”

There was silence between them for a minute or two as Shuri thought of what to say next.

“Do you have any information regarding Thanos’ whereabouts?” She asked, deciding to cut to the chase.

Nebula snorted. “No. I wouldn’t still be on this dumb planet if I did.”

Shuri elected to ignore the comment.

“Were you aware of Thanos’ plan to wipe out half of the universe?” She questioned instead.

Nebula hissed softly as her leg suddenly sparked, shaking her hand irritably. She glanced at Shuri, then returned her attention back to her leg. “Yes, I was. I was a part of it, once.”

Surprise and anger flashed through Shuri. “What role did you play in furthering Thanos’ plan?” She asked, struggling to control her voice.

“I was sent to look for the infinity stones. I was almost sent to acquire the power stone for my father, but… my sister took over the job, and that is when she ran away. I betrayed Thanos too, a few days following.”

Shuri tried to consider her next questions carefully, but emotion was threatening to overwhelm her. She had to find out the exact role this woman took in her brother’s death. “What else did you do while working under Thanos?”

Nebula paused her tinkering momentarily, her gaze flickering up to meet Shuri’s. “I was a galaxy class assassin. I killed people. Lots of people. Whoever my father wanted.” She curled her lip suddenly, before continuing bitterly. “I was never good enough, though.”

Good enough… at killing people? “Could you please elaborate?”

Nebula’s face twisted into a mixture of anger and pain. “I was never good enough for him. Gamora was his favourite child. I was always in her shadow. Every time we trained and fought against each other, I lost to her. And every time I lost to her, I lost a part of myself.” She leaned towards Shuri with a sudden wild intensity. “Thanos took pieces of me. He replaced them with metal to make me stronger, he said. I was awake and aware throughout most of his… modifications. I could feel it all.” Her eyes gained a haunted a look, and she took a deep breath before continuing. “I can still feel it. And that is why he must die. He doesn’t deserve to live after what he has done to me.”Shuri blinked at the woman before her, shock and horror warring for dominance inside her. Thanos did this to her? Her own father?

“What do you mean you can still feel it?” Shuri whispered, her eyes flicking over all of Nebula’s exposed bionic parts, momentarily forgetting the interrogation. She could still feel all that?

Nebula just stared at her, jaw clenched. She didn’t reply, and after a little while she jerked her gaze back to her leg, yanking out another wire with more force than was probably necessary.

Shuri shook her head, trying to expel the swirl of horrific thoughts running through her mind about what Nebula may have experienced and turning her focus back to the interrogation.

“So you weren’t on Thanos’ side? At all?” Shuri asked.

Nebula paused, a look of anger crossing her face once again. “No.” She forced through gritted teeth. “Unless you include the involvement he forced upon me.”

Shuri sat back in her chair. “I will not.” She decided. “It is not my place to judge you for crimes you have committed under someone else’s hand. I will judge you for your actions following your betrayal.”

Nebula huffed. “You might not judge me, but I’m sure others have and will continue to do so.” She blinked and tilted her head to glance up at Shuri. “I am a wanted target across the galaxies.” She told her, suddenly seeming uncharacteristically uneasy. “Especially after what has occurred. Even here, on Terra. The people want to catch who is responsible for killing their families. I’m Thanos’ last remaining child, and people will want my head. If they were to find out I was here…”

Shuri blinked at her, realising she was right. The rest of the world couldn’t know that Wakanda was harbouring an alien, especially not one as closely related to the recent disaster as Nebula was.

Shuri nodded slowly. “As far as the world is concerned, you aren’t here.” She promised. Some of the tension eased from Nebula’s shoulders, and she gave her a short nod before returning her attention back to her broken leg. It sparked again when she tried to work on it more, and she grunted, out of pain or irritation Shuri was not sure. She was once again reminded that, apparently, Nebula could still feel the pain from her modifications.

Shuri gazed at her blankly, unable to even fathom the pain she must be feeling.

Nebula suddenly stopped, hanging her head and sucking in a sharp breath. Shuri wasn’t prepared for what she said next. “He killed my sister.” She hissed. “Because of me. It’s my fault that she’s dead. And it’s my fault that half of the universe is gone now, too.” Shock pulsed through Shuri, along with another wave of grief and anger.

“What do you mean it’s your fault?” 

Nebula shook her head slowly. “Gamora knew where the soul stone was, but wouldn’t tell my father its location. So he tortured and threatened to kill me to get the information out of her. She told him to save me. I should be the one dead. Not her.” She glanced up at Shuri dully. “Not your brother.”

Shame washed over Shuri. Nebula blamed herself for her sister’s death. For everyone’s deaths. But it wasn’t really her fault.

“Thor’s brother – you know Thor, right? Right, well – Thor’s brother, Loki, gave up the space stone to Thanos to save his brother’s life. Thanos killed him, too.” Shuri whispered, remembering the story that Thor had told her of Loki’s heroism. “Your sister saved your life just like Loki saved his brother’s. They payed the same price because they loved their siblings. You’re no more at fault than Thor is, if this is the case.” Nebula blinked up at Shuri, pain and anger visible on her face. More than just physical, Shuri knew. She mourned her sister, just as Shuri mourned her brother. And her mother. Shuri knew she could not condemn Nebula for being raised by an evil man.

Shuri’s gaze flitted over the rest of Nebula’s body. She could not do much about Nebula’s emotional pain, but maybe she could do something about her physical pain. But that was a conversation for another day. It was time to do an ‘official’ interrogation.

“Okoye, you can come inside now.” Shuri called over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off of Nebula.

She heard the door slide open, and Nebula dropped her leg with a wince at Okoye’s arrival. The other woman sat down in the seat next to Shuri.

“We’re going to take down Thanos.” Shuri began. “Tell us what you know about him. His forces, anything.” 

Nebula raised her eyebrows and sat back in surprise. “Shouldn’t the rest of you be here?” She asked drily. “I’m not going to repeat myself to them, so if you want to start making plans, I suggest you either write down what I say or bring the others in here.”

Okoye curled her lip. “That is no way to speak to a queen!” She spat, slamming her fist on the table between them.

Nebula looked unimpressed. “I don’t care.” She replied bluntly, and Okoye looked like she wanted to punch the blue cyborg. Nebula crossed her arms before continuing. “I’m not going to waste time explaining things twice. And before you think of torturing information out of me, I can tell you now that it won’t work.” 

Okoye sat back and exchanged a swift, shocked glance with Shuri. “We weren’t going to torture you.” Okoye stated, looking slightly offended at the thought.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Nebula asked, and Shuri almost grinned at her boldness and the look on Okoye’s face. “I’m tired of waiting around on this planet. I came for allies, and we have done nothing. Like I said, if you’re going to start planning, everyone should be here first. I heard that you’re all… heroes, or whatever the equivalent of that is on this planet. So your information could be just as useful as mine.”

Okoye stared at her silently, before glancing at Shuri questioningly. Shuri cleared her throat, nodding.

“Okay. We’ll arrange a meeting. You can’t be released yet, since we don’t have all of the information we need yet. But if you’re willing to wait, we’ll wait.”

Nebula didn’t look too pleased about being locked up, but she nodded tersely in agreement.

“Good.” Shuri clapped her hands together, feeling satisfied. “We’ll hold the meeting after Tony wakes up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another very short chapter. Sorry for being inactive! I'm in the middle of exams, but I just wanted to get this chapter out which has been sitting in my docs for ages half-finished. 
> 
> Shuri has a lot to think about. The next chapter there will be more Tony, more Steve, basically more everyone and we start making a game plan. Also, what is Shuri gonna do with the outrider?? Or Nebula's scans?? Who knows.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y’all enjoyed the first chapter. It’s kind of short, but don’t worry the next one features Nebula and Tony on Titan and is quite a way’s longer. Please leave a review telling me what you think, I’m not really used to writing for any of these characters so I hope I’m doing them justice.


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